Fun Facts about Nigerian Dwarf Goats ♥
Alright guys! You probably know already that my favorite type of livestock are these fun little goats!
Yes, they even beat out the chickens!
Ok, some fun facts!
- The Nigerian Dwarf is a miniature DAIRY goat originally from west Africa, and can now be found around the world.
Not to be confused with pygmy goats; also from Africa, but they are miniature MEAT goats! - They come in ALL COLORS!! It is amazing! Pretty much any color you can think of for a goat, they come in. AND they frequently have blue eyes!
- They are small! (Duh!) This means they eat less than full size goats and don't need as much space, OR as high of a fence.
This also means they are safer to be around your human kids!
- They have pretty much the BEST MILK EVER! Seriously, it is sweet and creamy, perfect for DRINKING, and of course, other things like making cheese, soap, lotion, or whatever.
- They have fantastic, friendly dispositions! This makes them perfect for anything you want them for, pets, milk, 4H projects. They are actually pretty smart too, and you can train them to do tricks, be pack goats, or pull a cart!
- They breed year round, which makes it easy to breed for kidding during a certain season. The babies are about 2lb at birth, and the does can give birth to surprisingly large litters! 3-4 is not uncommon, and I've even heard of up to 8 in one birth!
- They are generally very hardy little things. I almost never have trouble with illness of any kind. They generally do not need assistance with births, and are wonderful mothers. There are exceptions to everything, of course...
Can you see why I love these crazy animals?
Ill be honest, this is the only breed of goat I have ever owned.
I do not have experience to compare them with full-size goats, but having bred these guys for 4 years now, I love them and am happy with them and I am not interested in switching breeds.
Thanks for reading! Maybe you learned a thing or two!
Have a fabulous evening, and maybe consider getting some of these marvelous goats for your homestead!
They are cute as.. I love their blue eyes.. A question, how much milk can one produce? Being dwarf I am assuming they produce less than bigger goats!
Thanks! I love them too! I got lucky and my blue-eyed buck throws all blue-eyed babies. ♥
The average production is a little over a quart per day per goat.
Naturally, some are lazy bums and give less, and some are over-achievers and give more! :)
And it is less than a full-sized goat, for sure. They have some of the highest butterfat of any goat though, about 6-10%, vs 2-6% for most other breeds.
It is also one of the best tasting goat milks. I have only had their milk, but they say other breeds can have milk with a slight 'goaty' flavor.
Thank you for the extra info.it is all so interesting. Sounds great. They will defiantly go on the list of animals we have to add to our homestead..
I have had fresh goats milk from a mother breed and Tho I liked it your right it does have a bit of a extra taste..
Very lucky to be able to keep breeding blue eyed babies.
Thank you
Good to know! That's what I have heard, other breeds' milk is a little different...
Im so glad I started off with Nigerians and their sweet, creamy milk. :D
Yes, I count myself lucky to get all blue-eyed babies. They seem to be in high demand compared to brown eyes, and the babies all sell very quickly.
Thanks for the kind comments!
This is a breed my father never raised, but I have seen them at county fairs. They are truly adorable!
Yes they are!
Its funny, when people come to see my goats, they always exclaim how tiny they are. I am so used to seeing them though, that they look 'normal' to me and full size goats look strange! 😂😏